Spellbound
by onedaytoday
Summary: Pritkin suspects another spell has been placed on Cassie. This bit of fluff takes place after the events in "Curse the Dawn." All characters are the property of Karen Chance.
1. Chapter 1

Spellbound

I raced down the hallway at a dead run, dodging room service carts and ignoring the frowns of Dante's guests and staff. I was going to be late for my training session with Pritkin unless I hustled. He'd been in such a bad mood lately I didn't want to give him an excuse to come up with new ways for getting my butt into shape. Sure, I could use my powers as Pythia to shift there in an instant, but I didn't like using them unless I had to.

Pritkin isn't what you would describe as good-natured, but the last couple of days his temper had been on a short fuse, even for him. Something was worrying the mage. And if it was worrying Pritkin, it had to be something bad. Really scary bad.

I pulled up short outside the door to the training salle and had to bend over with my hands on my thighs to catch my breath. I checked my watch and slowly breathed out. Almost a minute to spare. Pritkin's training sessions were actually starting to pay off! I wiped my sweaty face against the sleeve of my sweatshirt, took a final lung-filling breath, and sauntered in.

Pritkin greeted me with his usual scowl, but I was surprised to see Jonas there, too.

"You're late," Pritkin snapped.

The alarm on my watch went off. Grinning, I shoved it under Pritkin's nose. "No, I'm not. I'm exactly on time."

His eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything. He grabbed my wrist and turned off the alarm. I did my best to stifle a grin, glad I had set my watch back a few minutes before racing out of my room. Who needed to be Pythia to control time?

I turned to Jonas before Pritkin got suspicious. Pritkin could read me too easily. "Hi, Jonas. Do we have a training session now?"

Jonas is the current acting head of the Silver Circle. In his professional capacity and as a close personal friend of Agnes, the previous Pythia, he learned a lot about how the Pythia is supposed to operate. Since Agnes died after providing me with, oh, about thirty seconds of on-the-job training, it had been all learn-as-you-go for me until Jonas volunteered to share what he knew about the job.

I didn't think our session was until this afternoon. Something was definitely up. My internal worry meter inched up a notch.

"Hello, my dear." Jonas gave me one of his broad smiles. His blurry blue eyes had their normal good-natured twinkle, so whatever it was couldn't be too bad. I hoped.

"Jonas is here because I asked him to come." Pritkin sounded oddly formal. "Cassie…" He hesitated and the dial on my worry meter spun to max. "I believe a spell has been placed on you. It has taken me several weeks to realize this. I haven't been able to determine its precise nature, but I'm hoping Jonas will have more luck identifying it than I have."

"A spell? Another one?" I already had three tracking spells on me. One had even been cast by Pritkin. Pritkin's grim expression kept me from starting that argument again. "What does this one do?"

"That's not important. Jonas, check her."

Jonas nodded and raised a hand.

"Wait a minute!" I backed away from the two mages. "Nobody is doing anything until I know what's going on!" I turned to Jonas. "Who did this to me? What kind of spell do you think it is?"

"Well, Pritkin suspects…"

"I knew you'd make this difficult." Pritkin's angry green eyes glared at me. "Just check her!"

"John, she has a right to know. You're not protecting her by keeping her in the dark."

Pritkin's lips compressed into a thin line as he stared at Jonas. If Jonas had any sense, he'd keep quiet. But I was done with secrets in my life. "What. Is. Going. On?"

I must have been scarier than Pritkin because Jonas actually answered my question. "My dear, John suspects a _geis_ has been placed on you."

No. Not another _geis_. My chest tightened and I forced myself to breathe. This had to be a mistake. I looked at Pritkin. His serious expression did nothing to make me feel better.

"But it's gone! The _geis_ Mircea placed on me is gone! I don't feel that way about him anymore."

Pritkin's head snapped towards me with an indescribable expression on his suddenly pale face. "Not that one. Not Mircea." His voice was hard and clipped as he forced the rest of the words out. "It's a new _geis_ that affects us."

"Us?" It took me a moment for his words to sink into my rattled brain. "Us, as in you and me?"

Pritkin's curt nod might as well have been a punch to my stomach. This couldn't be happening. No wonder I had come to care so much for him so quickly. The feelings I had for my war mage partner were all because of another damn _geis?!_

Something of my pain and horror must have shown on my face, because Pritkin snarled at Jonas, "Get this over with. Check her now."

Jonas raised his hand again. "It'll take a moment to do a deep scan." A purple glow spread from his fingers and surrounded me. I felt a warm sensation like lying out in the sun on a hot, humid day. After what seemed like forever, the glow and the heat abruptly disappeared. I shivered from the sudden cold and the fear of what he would say next.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: I'm not confident that I understand the rating system. If anyone believes this is more mature than a T, please let me know and I'll be happy to change the rating. Reviews welcome.

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"Nothing. There's nothing there. I could not find any trace of a _geis_ or, indeed, any other spell besides the three tracking spells we already know about."

"Of course it's there. It must be."

"John, I saw the three tracking spells and that's it. There is no _geis_ on Cassie. There is no _geis_ on you."

Pritkin shook his head. "That can't be right. Maybe it's a new variant and it requires contact. Check again." And with that he pulled me towards him and kissed me. The kiss was hot and hard and desperate. Shock froze me for a moment before my arms moved on their own around his neck and I was kissing him back. I'd been having dreams about Pritkin's kisses, but I was unprepared, again, for the reality. My body refused all commands from my brain as it leaned into the hard strength of his body. With a groan, he slid a hand under my sweatshirt and pulled me even closer.

Dimly, I was aware that the purple glow had returned, but the only heat I felt this time was coming from where my body had molded itself to Pritkin's. When he finally broke off the kiss, I swayed against him and looked into dark eyes, rimmed with a ring of emerald green.

"Did you see that?" Pritkin's voice was rough when he spoke to Jonas, but his eyes never left my face. "It flares when there's physical contact between us."

Jonas nodded his fluffy white head. "Hmmm…Yes. I believe I did." His eyes seemed to sharpen for a moment as he looked to me and then back to Pritkin. "Obviously, there is a physical attraction between the two of you." I felt myself blush and looked away.

"John, do you think about Cassie when she's not around?"

"Yes." Pritkin's voice was strained.

"Do you feel bad when she is hurt or upset?"

"Of course. It's my job to look after her."

I started to protest but Jonas turned his attention to me. "Cassie? What about you? Do you think about John when he's not around? Do you worry about his happiness?"

Pritkin's impatient, angry voice interrupted. "I knew it. It's a new form of the _geis._ I can't detect it because I'm affected by it."

Jonas threw his hands up and used one of Pritkin's more colorful expressions. "If it was anyone else but you, I would assume this was one of the poorest attempts at a practical joke I've seen in a very long time. What's the matter with you, man? What kind of war mage are you?" He punched Pritkin in the arm and started walking out. "There is no _geis,_ you idiot. You _like _her."

I stared at Pritkin's shocked expression. Could it be true? I grabbed Jonas by his sleeve as he passed me. "Jonas, is it true? Is there really no _geis_?" Hope was making me light headed.

Jonas patted my hand before pulling away. "Really, child. There is no _geis._" He turned back to me when he reached the doorway. "Cassie, I expect to meet at our regular time this afternoon." He paused, his impish grin betraying his amusement. "Good luck with him." Chuckling, he was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

"Cassie?" Pritkin reached for me, but I shrugged out of his grasp. "Don't shift." His voice was grim. I was ashamed to admit to myself that I had been seriously considering doing just that.

Dammit. He knew me too well. Better than anyone else.

"Why didn't you tell me you suspected a _geis_ had been cast on us?" I didn't get an answer. No surprise there. I was used to Pritkin only talking when it suited him.

And then it hit me. Pritkin _liked_ me. The last few weeks were starting to make sense now. Every time I'd felt a flare of awareness between us, he'd picked a fight and we had ended up in an angry shouting match. The idiot couldn't accept that he was attracted to me. It was easier for him to believe we were the victims of a spell.

A small thought whispered inside my head. _Pritkin's incubus side might be attracted to my power, but Pritkin the man mustn't think too much of me if he had to blame a spell for his feelings._

I forced myself to ignore that thought and stepped right up to him. He flinched, but didn't step back, so I ended up shouting right in his face. "I know everybody trying to kill me lately hasn't exactly left a lot of time to chat, but—" My finger poked his chest in time with my words. "Why. Didn't. You. Tell. Me?"

Pritkin swallowed. "I knew you would be upset."

"Upset! You think this is upset?" I raised my finger again, but he grabbed my wrist and closed the gap between us. Suddenly, I lost track of what I was about to say. Pritkin's eyes had once again grown dark as he looked down at me with a strange expression on his pale face.

"What do you mean you don't feel _that way_ about Mircea?" He raised his hand to my throat and traced a line across my skin where Mircea's mark used to be. His thumb was rough from calluses earned being a crazy war mage, yet his touch was warm and gentle. I shivered remembering what his touch felt like on other parts of my body. "It really is gone." Pritkin whispered as his lips followed the path of his finger. _Oh, God._

We had to talk before this got out of control. My hands came up to push against his hard chest. A low growl came from Pritkin and suddenly my back was pressed against the wall by that same chest and I was being kissed open-mouthed and hungry. Only Pritkin wasn't the only one who was hungry. I was kissing him back. I couldn't resist sliding a hand across the nape of his neck and threading my fingers into his soft, gravity-defying hair.

With an oath he pulled his lips away and slammed his hands against the wall on either side of my head. His body trembled as he fought his incubus side. I looked into dark eyes that struggled between hunger and horror. "What should I have told you? That you threaten my control? Your scent, your touch is all it takes to make me a danger to you."

_Oh_. I swallowed. Leave it to Pritkin to actually tell me what he was thinking. After a lifetime living among vampires and the art form they made of lying, it always came as a surprise to hear the truth. It was one of the things I loved most about Pritkin. There weren't any games when he finally decided to talk.

"You wouldn't hurt me. I know that."

He tensed at my words and I could see the self-loathing cross his face. "You're a foolish child if you believe that."

After all these years he still blamed himself for the death of his wife.

I laid my hand against his chest. "Stop it. You have to stop beating yourself up about something that happened so long ago. It was beyond horrible, but it wasn't your fault your wife died. You didn't know what could happen!"

"There was no one else there to blame."

Pritkin's eyes had a lost look. I knew he was seeing his dead wife in his mind. In that moment I felt the temptation of the power of the Pythia. I could go back in time and save Pritkin's wife. I could bring her forward to this time. If I could only convince the past Pritkin that his wife really died there would be just a tiny risk of affecting the time line... wouldn't there? And I knew I was kidding myself. Even for Pritkin, I could not take that kind of chance. I closed my eyes.

"I'm sorry. I can't fix this."

His fingers lifted my chin until I was staring at Pritkin's face at his scariest. "Do not even consider it!" Of course he had guessed what I was thinking. "Sara is gone. It is the natural order of life in this realm and I have accepted it. Your responsibility is to make sure the time line is protected no matter who is affected." I nodded as a shudder ran through me. What would I do if we were talking about Pritkin's life?

But we weren't talking about that today. And it was time for my partner to come to terms with his incubus side.

"Pritkin, it's not your fault your incubus half is attracted to my power." Rosier's words echoed in my head. _All that power in such a pretty package. _Pritkin couldn't help who he was. That a part of me wanted to mean more to him than an emergency source of power was a thought I ruthlessly pushed away.

He swore and grabbed my arms. "No! It's not like that!"

"Then what? What is it like?"

Hurt flickered across his face before he let go and took a step back. I didn't think he was going to answer but he surprised me again.

"When I saw your body on the ground underneath MAGIC I thought I had lost you. You weren't moving and with the red dust everywhere it was hard to tell the extent of your injuries. In that moment…something broke in me." He reached out and gently brushed one of my unruly blonde curls behind my ear. "I've lived a long time. I've lost a lot of people who were important to me. I thought I had figured out how to protect myself and knew how to keep people from getting too close." Those gentle fingers were back, touching me with an awe and wonder that had my knees weakening. "I was wrong."

_Oh._ Pritkin didn't just like me, he actually _cared_ about me. "But why did you think there was a _geis? _I don't understand._"_

"You make me afraid. You make me happy. You make me look forward to the next day." He grabbed my arms again. "Do you know how long it's been since I've felt like that? I believed that part of me was destroyed with Sara. It had to be a _geis._" He shook his head in disbelief. "There was no other explanation for how you could have become so important to me so quickly."

And suddenly the cloud of fear and stress and tension that made up so much of my life lifted. I took a deep breath. That dark cloud would be back. I didn't have to be the Pythia to know that. But today, for now, knowing that the connection I had with Pritkin was real…it was enough. I smiled.

My expression seemed to surprise him. "What now?" he asked, an unfamiliar vulnerability in his voice.

"Pick me up at eight and wear something nice. We're going on a date." I was rewarded with a tentative smile from Pritkin. Then I shifted.

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_**AN:**__ Thanks for sticking to the end. I had fun with this and I hope you did, too._


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